L2 words learned via simulated social interaction are processed like L1 words, engaging right SMG rather than left middle frontal gyrus¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r1 · q2
Currency · newest study 2020 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Japanese speakers trained on Korean words through video-simulated social interaction showed greater right SMG activation at retrieval, while translation-learned words engaged left MFG; L1 words also activated right SMG more. → Ping Li and Hyeonjeong Jeong 2020

Evidence¶

Ping Li and Hyeonjeong Jeong 2020¶

Ping Li and Hyeonjeong Jeong. (2020). The social brain of language: grounding second language learning in social interaction. npj Science of Learning 5:8. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41539-020-0068-7

q2 · i? · review · r1

The review reports an fMRI study by Jeong et al. in which Japanese speakers learned Korean words under two conditions: L1 translation or videos of joint activities in real-life situations. Retrieval of socially learned words showed "more activation in the right SMG". The review interprets this as socially learned L2 words being processed similarly to L1 words.

"the words learned through videos with social interactions produced more activation in the right SMG whereas the words learned from translation produced more activity in the left middle frontal gyrus (MFG)"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• The mere presence of a social partner facilitates L2 word learning, with right SMG and IFG activity tracking learning outcomes and partner coordination — related
• Encoding L2 words by viewing videos of social situations engages more native-like neural responses than textual translation, and in a second study improved behavioral performance over non-social videos — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• Encoding L2 words through simulated social interaction activates bilateral posterior STS and right IPL, with delayed-test performance correlating with right TPJ, hippocampus, and motor activity — related
• Brain activation associated with theory of mind increases with the human-likeness of an interaction partner — related